jump up and down

half

It's seems like there are many half or at least partially finished things around here...

a half finished mini quilt.

a partially finished pile of books (which also includes Einstein Never Used Flashcards, but I left it at speech therapy this morning).

a half finished crochet dishcloth (from a skein of yarn that I thrifted for 10 cents a couple of weeks ago).

an embroidery project...embroidery done, now on to some sewing. 

And an almost finished decision, which is probably why there's so much half finished stuff around here.  I've been thinking a lot about Peter and school next year...maybe obsessing a little too much about it, but I really think these first few years of school can set the tone for the rest of his life.  After that rough start to summer school, Peter did finally survive a day without me and has been doing well since then.  Those first few days were a real eye-opener for me and I was grateful to be there to see what goes on - so many worksheets and so much sitting!  Is this just how kindergarten is now or is it just here?  This is my first experience with it in almost 30 years (when it was me going to kindergarten), so I'm not really sure.  I know Peter is ready for the "academics" of kindergarten (it really seems silly to say that, but I don't really think there is a better term for what kindergartners are expected to know), but I'm not sure he's ready for how it's being taught here.  I assume they do it this way because they are dealing with a large group of students.  We do have some options, each with its pros and cons of course, and I think we've almost come to a decision...more on that later.

before and after: living room details

the curtains

collection of vintage blue glass

some of my favorite fabrics, arranged a la Soulemama

vintage storybooks

retro filing box which now holds some of my favorite music

the one item that I painted (from brown to white) in the room - our entertainment cabinet/tv stand which just has to last through the next year or so because I am sure it will not survive another move!

and I'm so happy that I found a spot for my favorite thrifted painting

before and after: the living room

I think I've been teasing you long enough.  For a recap, here is the before:

and the after...

Before...

and what do we do with a wall that we don't like?  Fill it with maps, of course!  Also, there's a good view of the rug that gave me such a headache.   It took even more work than what I shared here as it got bigger and I'll have to tell you how I finally got it to stay flat when I'm done being mad at it for being such a hassle!

The couch, all cleaned up.  You also get a view of how this area transitions into the play area.

More living room details in the next post...stay tuned.

super swap

I just thought you should know that Beth over at Modern Jax is hosting a super fun Scrappy Christmas Block Swap.   Sign-ups end on August 1st.  I am so looking forward to a fab Christmas quilt this year!  Thanks Beth!

sunday dinner

Even though I didn't want to use the oven today, it was worth it to cook the crust of this fabulous fruit pizza - recipe from Family Fun magazine.  It was the perfect Sunday dinner - yum!

before and after: curtain call

I promise I had good intentions to blog a little more often this week - remember how I said Peter was starting summer school this week?  I thought I might have a few more quiet moments at home, just Ned and me.  Well, really I've had a lot more moments sitting on the floor with Ned in Peter's classroom reassuring him that he is fine.  The first day was pretty awful, for both of us.  The second day was better.  Hopefully we'll be on our way next week.

Last Saturday, I woke up at about six in the morning and decided I couldn't take the ugliness of the kitchen curtains anymore (see ugliness above in the "Before" shot).  Seriously, these things are paper thin, 85% polyester scratchy fabric and stained with greasy dust because no one had bothered to wash them.  So, I dragged my feet out of bed and started sewing.  I had my new curtains almost finished by the time the boys woke up at 9 am!  It is so unlike them to sleep this late and it was so nice!

I got the great fabric from Randi's shop - not a great picture here, but this is the only window in that room, so it made getting the lighting right sort of impossible for me, the amateur photographer.  The walls in the kitchen are covered with the ugliest contact paper and there was no way I was going to go the trouble of removing that when we're only living here for a year, so I was trying to work with that color (sort of a beige-salmon).  This fabric did the trick!  I am loving those curtain rings too - they are from IKEA and I've used them on all of the curtains in the house.  I love just making a straight panel and hooking it on the rings - so easy!

I think I am in love!

a few finds

My last few thrift store trips have brought some fun treasures into my home.  First off, four Pyrex bowls all found at one store - what I consider the motherload, as Pyrex has been so difficult to find lately and these were some great colors, especially the larger green bowl.

These are so fabulous that they deserve a few pics!

And one more...

More sheets - there is one store in the city where our families live that always has the best sheets.  Every time I go there are so many that I have to decide which ones to put back. If you know where my "motherland" is and live close by, I may even share its location with you if you ask nicely.

A couple of tins that I'm not sure what I'll do with, but the boys are enjoying hiding treasures in them right now.

And a fun napkin holder with some thrifted napkins that are in perfect condition.  I haven't bought paper napkins for a long time and have just been using a towel for myself, but the boys have picked up the habit of using their shirts.  It's time to break the habit.

playing catch up

 I got a really great deal on a kid camera the day after Thanksgiving, so we gave it to Peter for Christmas.  Peter has liked the camera, but not loved it and taken pictures intermittently over the months.  We kept telling him that we could put the pictures on the computer, but didn't download any of them until last night (right before our impromptu visit to the doctor - see below).  The camera doesn't take a great quality picture. There are lots of pictures of flooring.  We downloaded 306 photos and I've used some very inclusive standards to pare down to about 80, but there are actually some interesting ones in here. I'll share a few while I share what we've been up to lately.

Things have been crazy since we got back from vacation.  I got a sinus infection that was making vacation fairly unenjoyable and we wanted to get Ned in to see the pediatric opthamologist before he left on vacation for a couple of weeks, so we came home a day early.  The kind doctor confirmed our suspicions - Ned is cross-eyed and will most likely need surgery.  Ned had been squinting a lot and we will notice his eyes wander in, especially when he is tired.  That was Wednesday.  Then yesterday afternoon, I noticed a lump on Ned's back right under a spot where he got treated for molluscum a couple of weeks ago.  So, we took another trip to the doctor (remember - it takes an hour each way now, so it's definitely an event) last night and then got antibiotics for what the doctor thinks is an infection.  Luckily we caught it before it turned into an abcess, so there was no painful draining in the office. 

We are starting "homework" for Peter's occupational therapy which right now just consists of making him listen to his special headphones, which he claims are "too loud", so he doesn't resist them when he starts listening therapy next week. He does well if we use a timer so he can see when he'll be finished  and promise an immediate reward when he's done.  Peter also starts summer school next week.  In our old school district, they didn't offer summer school unless your child regressed during the summer months, so I wasn't really expecting it here.  Apparently, they are small enough here that they just offer it to all their special needs students.  Since he's had such a rough transition to life here (I didn't tell you that he just broke down in Primary at church two weeks ago and we had to go home for a nap - he's never done that), I think it will be good to get him used to going to school before kindergarten actually starts.  

I have been doing a fair amount of thrifting lately - found some great stuff while we were on vacation.  The living room is almost ready for a before and after too, so hopefully the blogging will become a  little more regular.  Going on vacation and coming back helped get me out of my "I just moved" mode, so that should speed things up around here too.  In the meantime, I hope you have a good weekend!

our summer groove

Living in a house in a small town and adjusting to summer is giving our day to day activities a different rhythm.  I feel like we are stilling getting into the groove here.  It's a good groove though, just one with a few more tasks (mostly taking care of the yard) and a few more diversions for the boys.  I am trying to relax and enjoy summer, and if my sparse blogging is any indication, I've been doing a fabulous job of it!

 

So what have we been up to?  We made strawberry freezer jam yesterday - yum!  And pancakes this morning for the smothering of the jam - yum, yum!  Don't you just love that last bit of jam that's left after you've ladled it into jars?

Peter is seeing two new therapists - a great speech therapist who has training in sensory issues and a new occupational therapist, also with lots of training in sensory issues.   After only two sessions, he knows more about what is going on with this boy than his last OT ever did.  We are excited for the changes and to start some new things to help Peter.  He starts summer school the week after we get back from our 4th of July family visit weekend.  I've been assured that it will be low key and I hope it will gently help him (and me) be ready for kindergarten in the fall.

I finally hung our laundry on our clothesline today.  This feature was definitely on the pro list when we were deciding if we would take this house and it rained so much right after we got here that I hadn't been able to use it.  Then when the rain finally stopped, I was too much in  the habit of using the dryer and didn't make the effort to hang things on the line.  Last week, I was inspired by Kirsten's post and got to it today.  Now, like her, I just need something to put the clothespins in.  I think maybe a clothespin apron...another project to add to the list.

And maybe we will forgive our landlord for having such repugnant taste in home interiors if he continues to bring us fresh vegetables from his garden...maybe.